Tesla has approved a remuneration package for its chief executive Elon Musk that could see the American entrepreneur become the world’s first official trillionaire.
Musk is already the world’s richest person, but a trillion dollars – in US currency – is actually quite a significant step above his already extensive $US490-billion net worth.
The package, linked to as many as 424-million Tesla shares, could have a value of $A1.5-trillion if the company is valued at $13-trillion, a crucial stepping stone to the renumeration package payout.
This is a goal set by the Tesla board for Musk to achieve over the next decade. The California-based company's shares are currently valued at $US446 ($A689) each, and Tesla holds a market-cap of $US1.4-trillion.
One trillion is one followed by twelve zeros. $1,000,000,000,000. It is one thousand billion, or one hundred thousand million. If you started counting now, it would take you close to 31,710 years to get to one trillion.
In Australian currency, one trillion $USD is $1.5-trillion AUD. In terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – the amount of ‘value’ given by a country in any one year according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – Musk would sit in 21st position, behind Switzerland but ahead of Taiwan. Fair to note that he would be ahead of another 173 other nations too.
It's enough to buy every person on the planet 22 Big Macs at the current Australian price of $8.60.
How many cars could you buy with $1.5-trillion?
For the past four years, roughly 1.5 million new vehicles have been sold in Australia per year, and, according to industry data analysis firm Blue Flag, the average new-car transaction price is currently $61,049. This gives the annual Australian new-car market a very rough value of $91.6-billion.
If Musk were to cash in his chips and start spending, he could afford to buy the ENTIRE Australian new car market, every year, for 16 years.
How many Teslas could Elon Musk buy with $1-trillion?
The current Tesla Model 3 starts at $54,900 before options and on-road costs. With a crisp $US1-trillion bill in your pocket, you could line up 27,322,400 of them in your driveway.
You’d need a long run up though, as that many 4.7-metre-long Tesla Model 3s would stretch close to 129,000 kilometres end-to-end – enough to circle the globe a bit more than three times. Keeping those Tesla key cards would also prove a challenge, as at 50 grams a piece, these would weigh 1,366,120 kilos, or the same as about 340 elephants.
For even more context, though, this is more Teslas than have ever been built.
According to the brand’s investor reports, since 2011, Tesla has built 8,569,931 cars – of all models and generations – to the end of September 2025.
Which means, $US1-trillion is enough to buy every single Tesla ever made, three times over.
With over 20 years of experience in digital publishing, James Ward has worked within the automotive landscape since 2007 and brings experience from the publishing, manufacturer and lifestyle side of the industry together to spearhead Drive's multi-media content direction.
